Speed governor for a vehicle



March 12, 1957 H. c. KELSAY SPEED GOVERNOR FOR A VEHICLE Filed Dec. 3. 1954 United States Patent 2,785,245 SPEED GOVERNOR For: A VEHICLE Hoyt C. Kelsay, Columbus, Ohio Application December 3, 1954, Serial No. 472,953

1 Claim. (Cl. 200-80) This invention relates to a speed governor for a vehicle and has for its primary object to prevent a vehicle from traveling beyond a selected speed.

Another object is to preserve the power of the engine of the vehicle and avoid interference with the pickup of the vehicle while at the same time preventing the vehicle from traveling at a speed in excess of that selected.

A further object is to enable the vehicle to be readily equipped with a speed governor having the above advantages.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a rotor operatively connected to the speedometer cable of a vehicle for rotation with said cable, a moving contact carried by the rotor for movement in a closed path about the axis of the rotor, and outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force as the speed of rotation of the rotor increases, said moving contact being electrically grounded, and a stationary contact electrically connected to the ignition coil of the vehicle in advance of the distributor thereof and mounted in spaced relation to the rotor for engagement by the moving contact when the speed of rotation of the rotor attains a predetermined value.

Other features include mounting the moving contact for radial adjustment on the rotor to regulate the speed at which the governor functions to short circuit the ignition system of the vehicle.

Still other features include a case enclosing the rotor and having externally screw threaded nipples extending outwardly therefrom, bearing sleeves mounted in the .nipples, a rotor within said case, trunnions carried by the rotor and journaled in the bearing sleeves, opposite ends of the trunnions being connected to a speedometer cable, a moving contact carried by the rotor for movement therewith in a closed path and outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force, and a stationary contact carried by the case in electrically isolated relation thereto and in the path of the moving contact when the latter moves outwardly for a predetermined distance under the influence of centrifugal force.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary side view of a speedometer cable showing this improved governor operatively connected therewith;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the governor is connected to the speedometer cable and ignition system of a conventional motor vehicle.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a case designated generally comprises a cup-shaped body 12 to which is coupled as by bolts 14 an end plate 16. Carried by the cup-shaped body and projecting outwardly therefrom is an externally screw threaded nipple 18 and a similar 2 nipple 20 is carried by the end plate 16, as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 2.

Mounted in the nipples 18 and 20 are bearing sleeves 22 and 24 in which are mounted for rotation trunnions 26 and 28 carrying a rotor 30 which, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, rotates within the case 10. Adjustably secured as by screws 32 to the rotor 30 for radial adjustment thereon is a moving contact designated generally 34 which comprises a leg 36 having a longitudinal slot 38 extending therethrough for the reception of the screws 32 by means of which the moving contact 34 may be adjusted radially relative to the rotor, as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 3. Carried by the leg 36 and extending laterally therefrom adjacent the end thereof remote from the rotor 30 is a curved spring arm 40 which carries at its end remote from the leg 36 a weight 42 defining a contact element which, as the rotor 30 rotates, moves in a closed path, the diameter of which increases as the speed of rotation of the rotor increases under the influence of centrifugal force.

Formed in the inner side of the circumferential wall of the cup 12 is a groove 44 which extends for a distance substantially equal to one-half of the circumference of the cup 12, and seated in said groove is an arcuate insulator 46, the inner side of which forms a support for a stationary arcuate contact 48 having a binding post 50 which extends radially outwardly through the cup 12 and is adapted to be connected through the medium of a conductor 52 with the coil C of a conventional ignition system in advance of the distributor D of the ignition system. It will thus be seen that as the speed of the vehicle increases, the weight 42 will move outwardly into engagement with the stationary contact 48 to establish electrical communication between the coil C and ground to partially short out the ignition system of the vehicle until the speed of the vehicle decreases and allows the weight 42 to disengage the stationary contact 48.

The trunnion 28 is provided in its end remote from the rotor 30 with a rectangular socket 54 for the re ception of the rectangular end 56 of a speedometer cable 58 which is threadedly engaged with the threads on the nipple 20 and the trunnion 26 is provided with a rec tangular extension 60 for entrance into the socket in a conventional speedometer drive shaft. It will thus be seen that the weight 42 defining the moving contact is grounded through the speedometer cable to the vehicle so that when the weight 42 contacts the stationary contact 48, the ignition circuit will be grounded.

In use, it will be evident that by releasing the screws 32', the leg 36 may be moved inwardly or outwardly in radial relation to the axis of the rotor 30 so as to adjust the position of the Weight 42 with relation to the stationary arcuate contact 48, to thus select the speed at which the weight 42 engages the arcuate contact to short out the ignition system for a portion of the operation of the engine. By thus selecting the adjustment, the speed at which the device functions may be selected and owing to the fact that the rotor is driven by the speedometer shaft, no interference with the power and pickup of the vehicle will be experienced as the speed of operation of the motor of the vehicle is not interfered with until the speed of advance of the vehicle attains a predetermined value. Thus, the safety factor of speed and pickup of the vehicle is preserved while the vehicle cannot be operated beyond a predetermined travel.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may speed of Patented Mar. 12, 1957 be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is: A centrifugal switch comprising a case, an arcuate contact carried by said case and lying in spaced concentric relation to an axis thereof, a rotor mounted Within said case for'rotation about the axis in a path which lies in concentric spaced relation to the arcuate contact, a legcarried by the rotor for adjustment radially relative to the path of movement of the rotor, an arcuate resilient arm carried by the leg'and extending ootwardly there 4 m or' o m w h the rotor betwcea he rotor and the case, and a weight carried by the resilient arm remote from the rotor for movement under the influence of centrifugal force into engagement with the arcuate 5 contact.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 970,794 Carlson Sept. 20, 1910 10 2,079,539 White et a1. May 4, 1937 2,677,733 Haley May 4, 1954 

